Lost Highway Records: Isaac Freeman And The Bluebloods

“The first thing one notices about Beautiful Stars is that voice. Press ‘play’ and it jumps out of the stereo louder, warmer and more present than almost any instrument could. And it’s only speaking: it hasn’t even started singing yet.” – New York Times

“it’s a stirring collection of spirituals Freeman sang as a boy in Johns Ala.” – Associated Press

“ On ‘Beautiful Stars’ and ‘Because He Lives’ particularly, Freeman’s seismic low notes will shake you to your very soul.” (4-stars) – USA Today

"The pop charts afford few pleasures like Beautiful Stars, a warm, rich reward that will sound just as good 10 years from now, a promise few of today’s top sellers can make.” (Rating: Classic) – San Francisco Chronicle

“The pairing of Freeman's deeper-than-the-Marianas-Trench voice and the roadhouse-ready Bluebloods balances Beautiful Stars gracefully on the precipice between Saturday night and Sunday morning, and Freeman testifies with the conviction of a man whose sacred duty is to do what's right. This music is destined to stand the test of time.” - Philadelphia Inquirer

Isaac "Dickie" Freeman has often been called one of the most important and influential bass singers in 20th century music. Beautiful Stars, the artist's first-ever solo album – pairing him up with Nashville's most-acclaimed blues band, the Bluebloods – more than sustains his legend. To use an old cliché, the proof is in these tracks.

At the age of 73 with more than a half-century of musical experience behind him, Freeman – or Dickie as his friends and associates have called him ever since a musical comrade gave him the nickname back in 1947 – is hardly the proverbial household name in modern music circles. And yet his unmistakable voice was at least partially responsible for one of the biggest selling and critically acclaimed albums of the last year. As the bass singer and musical director of the legendary a cappella gospel group the Fairfield Four, Freeman not only appeared on the soundtrack recording of O Brother, Where Art Thou, but he also appeared in the film, portraying one of the gravediggers singing "You Gotta Go That Lonesome Valley."

A film appearance might seem like the pinnacle of a musical career that enjoyed new secular heights after the Fairfield Four reunited in 1980. A Grammy award and collaborations with such contemporary superstars as John Fogerty, Elvis Costello, Steve Earle, Johnny Cash, Charlie Daniels, and Pam Tillis were all part of the comeback scenario. But Beautiful Stars is the first time that Freeman's extraordinary voice has been totally alone in the spotlight. And the Bluebloods – who are another first for this formerly always a cappella vocalist – provide arrangements that drive home the point that gospel music is the very beginning of the road that leads to r&b, soul, blues, and rock 'n' roll. As Jerry Zolten, the album's executive producer, states very clearly: This is the very bedrock of all modern African-American musical forms.

Zolten, a communications professor at Penn State University, was the person who spearheaded the Fairfield Four's return to recording in the ‘80s, after folk historian Doug Seroff reunited the original version of the pre-1950 quartet for a gospel festival. So it was only fitting that Zolten should also be the catalyst behind Freeman's first solo effort.

"I'd never thought about doing solo album," says Dickie. "Not after all those years of singing as part of a quartet. But he said ‘I'm behind you. It think it would be a good idea.' I was a little [hesitant]. I hadn't given it any thought. And no other bass singers ever chose to do [a solo record]. But he told me to get between 15 and 30 songs and to select songs that aren't as well known. I thought, ‘Well, I could go back to my childhood when I was coming up in Johns, Alabama – the songs my mother and the people in her choir sang a cappella. The only time they had music was maybe a piano – maybe. So I knew plenty of those songs."

Indeed, with the exception of "You Must Come In At the Bottom" – written especially for Freeman by Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor after one of the Fairfield Four's many appearances on his show – all the tracks on Beautiful Stars are traditional gospel classics. "Public domain," as Freeman likes to repeat.

Over a two-year period, the duo recorded 30 demo songs, with Zolten accompanying Dickie on guitar. The professor then brought the idea of a solo album to country-rock maverick Kieran Kane, who first discovered the Fairfields after his partner Kevin Welch (who had known the quartet from Nashville) had them accompany him on the CD and video for "Life Down Here on Earth". They performed the track again together at West Virginia's famous Mountain stage Amphitheater in the ‘80s. Not coincidentally, Kane and Welch later released the group's first live album on their Dead Reckoning label. Kane immediately agreed to produce the solo sessions, recruiting the Bluebloods for the project. Although the band was provided with the rough demo tapes, Zolten says the idea was to “go for the moment. This music always took its form from spontaneity live and onstage."

Says Freeman: "The first time I met those guys was in the studio, I just said ‘Hey, fellas, I got some old songs here. I don't know if you guys can back me up or not, but this is the way I want it to go.' So I sang it, and it didn't take no time for them to catch onto the style I do."

The icing on the cake, both Freeman and Zolten agree, are the back-up vocals provided by Regina Brown and Ann McCrary, the daughters of the late Reverend Sam McCrary, one of the Fairfield's original members. Their appearance helps to bring things full-circle, so to speak.

"I'm always thinking about Reverend McCrary, and I thought those two girls would be perfect for this," says Freeman. "The night they came into the studio, I was at the hospital with my wife who'd just had an operation. Kieran called and asked me if I wanted to come in for the session, but I needed to be with my wife. So I just said, ‘Whatever they do, it'll be all right because they know what to do. They were brought up on this music.'"

When Beautiful Stars was originally released on the Dead Reckoning label, the indie release garnered rave reviews in the mainstream press, including one from Josef Woodard in Entertainment Weekly. Such acclaim brought the album to the attention of Lost Highway, which had released the O Brother soundtrack. The label decided to re-release the album, thereby providing the commercial clout that its association with Universal Music can bring.

And the truth is that the album's re-release couldn't come at a more meaningful time in American history. Gospel music deals with spirituality and hope – and what every new listener will discover on Beautiful Stars is that Freeman's incredible voice is an instrument that can be both soothing and comforting, a rarity for a bass profundo voice.

"It's just a God-given talent," says the singer. "I never had any training, as far as music is concerned. Looking at it on paper, I couldn't tell you one note from the other. But my voice has been this heavy since I was 15, and so I say it's God-given. He gave it to me, I pursued it, and that's it. I did have someone who influenced me. Porterfield Lewis of the Heavenly Gospel Singers was my idol, and he used to give me a lot of pointers on how to sing bass. But that's all the training I ever had."

The final words belong to executive producer Zolten, who believes the album holds more significance in light of the way the world has changed since September11, 2001. "I heard someone pointing out that certain records bring great comfort to people in troubled times. And I can't think of a record that's any more comforting than Dickie's is. I hope a lot of people can discover it because this truly is a comforting album for troubled times."